The ICO will have dedicated full-time staff and an annual budget from which it will fund its core activities. The ICO will receive administrative and financial oversight from the UNCCD Secretariat as part of a formalized collaboration agreement.

The Initiative Coordination Team

Muralee Thummarukudy

Director

Wagaki Wischnewski

Communication Coordinator

Salma AlSayyad

Policy Officer

Georgina Bwango

Administrative and Finance Officer

Erkan Guler

Data and GIS expert

Andreea Becheru

Office Management

Paula Padrino Vilela

Associate Programme Management Officer

Joann Lee

Programme Officer

Mohamed Abd salam EL Vilaly

Programme Officer Information Management

Devashree Niraula

Research and Outreach Specialist

Key Technical Experts

Nick Leimu-Brown

Ecology Researcher and Professor

Joppe Cramwinckel

Independent Environmental Professional

Dr. Karen Sudmeier-Rieux

Environmental Education Outreach Specialist

Olof Lindén

PhD, Professor Emeritus WMU

Iyenemi Ibimina Kakulu

PhD, Senior Project Advisor (UNEP)

Santhakumar Velappan Nair

Professor Economic-sociology

Technical and other Support

Sukhesh Vadavil

Web & Social Media Strategist

Antonia Mendes

Stakeholder Engagement Consultant

Daniela Cristofori

Visualisation Consultant

Apoorva Bose

G20 Programme Coordinator, India

Interns

Sébastien Brion

Intern

Diya Deepak

Intern

Salma Ramadhan

Intern

Zeel Gada

Intern